Zhao Ke

Zhao An understood at once.

His so-called biological big brother had his eye on the money in Zhao An's hands.

"Brother Zhao, don't worry. I didn't say anything, and I didn't tell them a thing," Li Gou'er added.

He was much sharper than Zhao Chunzi in this regard. He knew this big brother had no good intentions, so he kept his mouth firmly shut.

"Mm." Zhao An didn't say anything more and went straight into the inner room.

He didn't care what his brother was after, and he felt no affection for him at all.

If anyone dared reach for what was his, they'd better be ready to have their hand chopped off.

His gaze fell on the Soul Pool. A day had passed, and several more Soul Slaves had reached the end of their term.

There were four in all. In life, they'd been core members of the Python Gang, and each had served for just one year.

Zhao An had no use for them, so yesterday he'd used them all to practice his blade work.

After absorbing the fruits of those four training sessions, he had to admit that, though none had served for long, together they'd still improved his blade art by a fair amount.

His Fierce Tiger Blade had nearly reached perfection in the Third Realm. He could even faintly feel the threshold of the Fourth Realm.

Most importantly, his inner cultivation had advanced. The hundred strands of Internal Breath that had once circulated through his body had suddenly increased by another twenty or thirty!

As his Internal Breath grew steadily stronger, his whole body seemed to float on air.

He moved with the wind at his heels, and every gesture brimmed with strength!

His breath had grown longer, too, and his stamina was exceptional.

After finishing another bowl of Red Blood Root medicine, Zhao An felt heat coursing through his body.

He relished the feeling of his strength climbing higher and higher.

The next day.

Dressed in his uniform and wearing a soft-winged hat, Zhao Ke returned to the busy street where Zhao An lived. Without changing expression, he kicked the courtyard gate open.

"Which bastard kicked the gate in?" Hearing the commotion, Li Gou'er came running out, cursing.

The moment he saw Zhao Ke in his uniform, his angry expression vanished.

"B-Brother Zhao..."

"What brings you here..."

Before Li Gou'er could finish speaking, Zhao Ke slapped him to the ground.

"You worthless fool!"

Li Gou'er gritted his teeth. He didn't dare say anything aloud, but in his heart he cursed Zhao Ke from head to toe.

Back then, they'd fled famine together from the same village and struggled to scrape by in Lianjiang City.

Now that Zhao Ke had risen in the world and joined the government, he'd completely forgotten the bond they'd once shared as fellow villagers.

He wouldn't even acknowledge Zhao An, his own biological brother.

If anyone embodied heartless ingratitude, Zhao Ke was the first person Li Gou'er thought of!

"Don't tell me that brat Zhao An went out again first thing this morning!" Zhao Ke snapped.

The inner room's door opened. Zhao An glanced at Li Gou'er on the ground and furrowed his brow.

Then his gaze shifted to Zhao Ke.

The Chief Constable's uniform and the official hat on his head certainly stood out.

Even though the government's hold over the local area had weakened greatly, an official was still an official.

That uniform carried an innate authority over ordinary commoners.

Zhao Ke studied Zhao An from head to toe. The words that had been about to leave his mouth circled around once before he swallowed them.

In the past, it had been easy for him to manipulate his own younger brother.

But today, Zhao An felt like a stranger.

He was like a long blade halfway out of its sheath, its exposed edge nearly cutting into Zhao Ke's face.

Zhao Ke had wanted to put on the airs of an elder brother again, but he found himself inexplicably short on confidence.

It wasn't because his conscience had awakened and he felt he owed Zhao An. Deep down, he feared a ruthless man capable of carving his way through the Python Gang!

"Do you have any idea what a huge mess you've made?" Zhao Ke took two steps closer and spoke with a hint of reproach.

"Did you come to arrest me?" Zhao An asked calmly.

He'd considered how the government might react. The Python Gang were all scoundrels, but killing was still against the law. If he really drew the government's attention, they might not let him off.

If that happened, he wouldn't be able to stay in the city.

"However you look at it, you're my own younger brother. How could I want to arrest you?" Zhao Ke shook his head and slapped the Official Blade at his side onto the stone table.

"But if the County Magistrate gives the order, there's nothing I can do, no matter how unwilling I am. The County Commandant and the County Soldiers aren't under my authority."

At Zhao An's words, Zhao An understood. This was a threat.

Sure enough, after Zhao Ke finished a long stretch of sighing and lamenting, he changed tack. "You came out of the Python Gang's main hall, so you must've taken Xu Donglai's money. Do you have any extra?"

When Zhao An didn't answer, Zhao Ke continued.

"Give me the money, and I'll go grease a few palms at the government office for you. Then this matter will be easy to handle."

"Of course, if you don't want to do that, then pretend I never said anything today. If something happens later, don't blame me for not warning you as your big brother."

"Then I'll pretend you never said anything," Zhao An replied with a nod.

At that, Zhao Ke's mouth twitched, and his expression darkened.

In the past, a few words from him had been enough to leave this little brother of his spinning in circles.

But today, that trick wasn't working.

"Is this money worth more than your life? Aren't you afraid you'll be dead before you can spend it?" Zhao Ke sneered, his patience wearing thin.

"Don't trouble yourself over that. I'll make sure I spend it well," Zhao An said with a faint smile.

Zhao Ke fell silent, feeling his face grow hot. Then he suddenly said, "It's been a long time since I've seen you. I wonder how much your skills have improved. Since we have the chance today, let's spar."

With that, he rose, took his blade, and stood in the courtyard.

"I'm afraid blades don't have eyes," Zhao An said as he stood too. Though he said that, he'd already stepped forward.

"Cut the nonsense. I said come, so come!" Zhao Ke barked, drawing his blade.

Li Gou'er was quick-eyed. He knew Zhao An wanted to fight too, so without waiting for him to say anything, he hurried to fetch Zhao An's Big Ring Blade.

Holding the blade, Zhao An stood composed and waited for Zhao Ke to attack first.

Zhao Ke's gaze sharpened. He didn't hold back. He planted his foot and charged straight at Zhao An.

He raised his hand and slashed, his blade flashing fiercely, with no intention of going easy.

He'd already been planning to test Zhao An's true ability.

If Zhao An really had the strength to carve through the Python Gang, then he'd have no choice but to drop the matter of the money.

But if Zhao An was only bluffing, he'd teach him a lesson before taking the money in his hands.

Facing Zhao Ke's attack, Zhao An found it utterly ordinary.

He knew Zhao Ke had become a Martial Master; otherwise, he couldn't have served as Chief Constable of the Outer City. His blade art had also come from the government.

But even so, Zhao Ke had only been a Martial Master for a few years.

By contrast, how many Soul Slaves had been put to work practicing the Fierce Tiger Blade Art? Added together, they'd trained for well over a decade!

And those ten-plus years had been spent in the Soul Slaves' relentless practice, without sleep or rest.

If they really fought, how could Zhao Ke possibly be his match?

They exchanged just one blow. A flash of silver swept past Zhao Ke's eyes, and his heart clenched. For an instant, he was even struck by panic.

Zhao An's counterattack had been far too fast—faster than he could have imagined!

On impact, the long blade flew from Zhao Ke's hand at once.

Zhao An's Big Ring Blade kept right on coming, heading for his head!

I'm dead!

At that moment, all he could picture was the Big Ring Blade splitting his skull open.

Fortunately, Zhao An had perfect control. He only struck Zhao Ke on one side of the face with the back of his blade.

Smack!

The sharp crack rang out like a loud slap.

Zhao Ke stumbled and fell onto the ground, stunned, with the terror of having narrowly escaped death still showing on his face.

He instinctively touched that side of his face. It burned with pain.

"Blades don't have eyes. I couldn't hold back." Zhao An picked up the Official Blade from the ground and handed it back to Zhao Ke. He didn't help him up, and he didn't apologize either.

Seeing this from nearby, Li Gou'er was startled too. Then he felt a rush of satisfaction.

"Serves him right!"

He was deeply grateful to Zhao An. His big brother had just paid Zhao Ke back for the slap he'd dealt Li Gou'er.